Missouri child care provider charged with abusing 2 babies

SPRINGFIELD (AP) — A southwest Missouri child care provider who has been investigated on and off for nearly a decade has been charged with abusing two babies.

The Springfield News-Leader reports 34-year-old Rachel Slawson was charged Monday with abusing a 5-month-old baby whose skull was fractured in 2013. She's also charged with abusing an 8-month-old who showed signs of having been shaken this summer.

Bond is set at $25,000. No attorney is listed for her in online court records.

Greene County Sheriff's Office records show Slawson also was investigated in 2007 when a 4-year-old wandered off and in 2009 when a 3-year-old was hurt at a Springfield child care where she worked before being fired.

A Springfield officer later spotted her caring for 19 children — far more than allowed.